Nibbling Away At The Kitchen/Porch/Dining Projects

MoccasinFebruary 8, 2010

Where do I begin with this? Could it be when I threw out the old rusted electrical range and rusted vent hood, pulled out the old dishwasher which made dishes dirtier not cleaner, wrenched a cabinet from the floor, tore out porch storage cabinets and the screens which raccoons ripped apart, where the previous residents' pit bulls chewed off the doors and tore the back stoop rails down? Changed out the gross dining ceiling light, capped off the wall switch because it was totally hazardous?

I figure folks on the small house forum will appreciate that taking the back porch into the kitchen, and removing a portion of two walls, will make this space flow and really be a sun-filled lovely space. The exposure is to the south and the back porch door is on the east side where we built a 10x12' low deck.

now that is a beautiful enclosed porch! I love those windows and it's just been so well put together (much nicer than my ramshackle porch).

Im having trouble making sense of the photos though, is the porch being used as part of the kitchen? can we see some pics that show the full rooms? have you already made the changes or are you planning to knock out part of the wall?

Thanks for your observations. The 2nd and 3rd pics show the inside of the current kitchen's back wall, with the stub of a 6" stove vent hanging down inside the wall cabinet, and a stainless topped buffet presently in place. On the ooposite side of this wall, where the lap board exterior and all the surface wiring and dinky breaker box is. THAT wall is coming out as much as I can get it to. At LEAST!!!

And the floor is coming up 4 to 6 inches more to be level with the kitchen. Hubby wanted to tidy it up with a nicer floor than the gray-painted wood board, so he laid 3/4 plywood with the stickyback vinyl tiles approximating the color we love presently used in his redo of the sunporch (an Italian porcelain tile like terra cotta).

What I see as possible if the walls are all load bearing, is to make at least a 4' passage way in line ("en fillade") with the passageway from the living room into the dining room. That's why I put the view through this doorway into the uploaded photos. I took down the pair of french doors that were nice but in the way. (Actually, we could remount them and use them to make the living room private and good to use as an occasional guest room. I've thought about that.)

The other wall to be modified is the one from the dining room into the kitchen. The current door accessing the kitchen would not be turned into a wall, but would have a bar for 2 stools blocking off that doorway, with a support post about 4' out. Since the wall is almost 12' (lacking a couple of inches), I see a 4' passageway/opening in the middle of this wall too, and that leaves 4' more to block the view of the sink/dishwasher from the dining area.

The remaining stub of dining room/kitchen wall will be where I put a floor to ceiling storage cabinet on the dining room side, possibly as a roll out pantry, then under the doublehung pair of windows adjacent to that spot, a cushioned window seat, with it ending in another base cabinet and wall cabinet w/glass front doors for stemware. Hubby is now planning this whole unit, because we need to have a place to store the contents of the THREE CLOSETS I destroyed to add a 3/4 second bath!! The space will all be used for kitchen/dining purposes eventually.

Someone asked if I had to relocate any plumbing. So far, no. BUT, the water heater is gas and is now located inside the back porch, something I do not like. When we move it, it will become an electric tank, not huge, and it will be outside the porch wall backed up to the fridge location, in a little shed with room enough for a preheat tank for water heated through solar panels on the roof. Hubby used to teach engineering, and he said he assigned this kind of project to his classes. (How lucky can I get, you think, but we butt heads when our ideas clash.)

When we get that far, the present washer/dryer, a new stacking front loading Frigidaire (LOVE it) will move to the spot of the old water heater, the gas supply line will be connected to the new 24" Bertazzoni gas stove I will order, the porch shed roof will be raised as much as possible, the porch structure will be extended across the entire rear of the house, so that almost 7' x 13' will be available to the back bedroom. With this extension of the bedroom, we'll relocate the entry to the new "master" to this back porch, with a barn-hung door where the current washer/dryer are now located. We'd have room for the wall track to disappear down the alcove of the spot where the washer dryer will be tucked away. That little alcove with a full height wall extension to hide it from the kitchen view, will be only a few feet from the present water supply lines and the exhaust duct for the dryer, and the exhaust for the stove vent, will exit the much lower shed roof area than going all the way through the high center of the main house roof. I'm locating the stove further back on that kitchen wall to avoid changing any a/c ducting for the kitchen, which is in the center of the present kitchen's north wall.

This photo shows the new dishwasher, the rolling ss-topped cart which has our 2-burner Waring hotplate used to cook meals these days. But this is the wall between the kitchen/dining room and it will all come out with the possible exception of 4' by the dishwasher, and with a header remaining overhead the entire width of this wall. The 2-stool bar will be at the other end of this wall area, high enough to hide the cook stove.

This shows the wall more completely, between dining/kitchen. Imagine a plate rack over the dishwasher, a garden window behind the sink with no backsplash in that area, just level with counter height, a passageway where the cart presently is.

And where the washer/dryer are, that wall will extend further across back of house, w/d will go where you see the waterheater sticking out. The kitchen wall will extend enough to hide the appliances and give enough space to put a working cabinet next to the new gas stove using the gas piping now used by the water heater.

Viewed from outside, the southern exposure of the porch and kitchen and dining room are revealed. The new electric water heater will go just behind the fridge on the porch wall, a couple feet away from the main power breaker for the house. I wanted to tear out that wall and make it inline with the kitchen wall, but we can adjust to the quirks of the house. The short window is the kitchen and will become a garden window. The pair of windows, the dining room, will have a windowseat inside. Really nice in the winter.

WOW That is a huge amount of planning. Your room looks like such a happy space to be in with the pretty colors.

In the plant picture. Plant o the far right on the sill. I have a few of those here. Do you know the name. They have a beautiful and fragrant flower that blooms in the middle of the night and is gone by morning so you really have to stay up and have a party around the flower blooming.

Yes, it seems you have a solid plan. Adding 7x13' to your bedroom is going to be really nice! I love your plans for expanding the kitchen onto the porch. Is the roof too low? Will you have to tear it off completely? Wow, Im full of questions.

Thanks Moccasinlanding, I had a thought that is what the plant was. It has grown so large. The others I have are from accidents to the Mother plant. Prolific thing she is. Had a hard time getting her moved here. More starts. I had her in the master bath and just moved t the living room. Hoping it is better sunlight.

All your plants do look lovely in your sun room kitchen. I used to have so many but quit buying them and gave many away. They got so big and it is sometimes hard to have really large plants in a small house.

Idietolive, yes, I estimate the shed roof on the porch must be raised as much as possible. I'm hoping they tear it off completely, because there is not much insulation in it, and down here we insulate against HEAT more than COLD.

The front and back walls of the kitchen are coming out, or else having large openings cut in them. There is a breaker box on the porch wall and it must be moved. The main interior breaker box is on the other side of the wall in the present kitchen, and if I stand at the sink I can reach out my left hand and touch the danged thing. How it passed code I have no idea. Because it must be located SOMEWHERE, I might have to leave a stub of the wall to the left of the sink, but turn the breaker box 180 degrees toward the back porch side of the stub wall. You can see the gray breaker box in the 2nd photo of my original post here.

Shades, I really love that soft yellow color myself. Surrounded by white, it almost glows like sunshine. The color is THREADED GOLD by Behr, and of course I got it from Home Depot. You must have a good monitor to get the true color. I consider it a soft light ochre, which is an earthy yellow and not a harsh chrome yellow. The living room and dining room color is Behr WARM TERRA COTTA. It is a flower pot color by day, and an old barn red by lamplight. I absolutely adore it, and painted our living room up north that color too. After we open up the passageways front and back sides of the kitchen, I will repaint the dining room a more transitional color and continue the Threaded Gold into the whole kitchen.

Shades, most of the plants will find their way back outdoors in a couple of months. I have some 3" terra cotta pots of herbs and a hydroponics setup for herbs which will stay indoors. Until we turn our roofless cinder block garage into a greenhouse, the tender plants get moved into dappled shade near a brick patio on the south side of the house. I hope the huge split leaf philodendrons and ferns and birds of paradise in huge pots or in the ground are surviving, but I'm afraid to lift their covers to see.

I love that colour in your porch moccassin and since I saw your pics I've been thinking I should paint mine something similar I think that colour really works out there.

I think your porch would make a really nice eating/sitting area so Im wondering why you arent extending the kitchen out to the current dining area? since the floor levels would be the same. Is it too cold out there in winter? I know what you mean about insulating against the heat, we get really hot summers here and our porch does have insulation but there is so little roof space up there that it really traps the heat in summer. We installed a roof ventilator just to let the hot air out again :0

Trance, it is a lovely gentle color but not overwhelming. When I first discovered it, I ragrolled a miminal coat over a flat white background in my "study", an 8x9' bedroom facing southwest, in my original bayou home, MoccasinLanding. It looked like the walls disappeared and only sunlight remained, a breathtaking effect. Across the 8' end of the room, I installed the closetmaid kit for wire shelving which had two 6' support posts in the middle front and which did not make the room look smaller. Instead of a desk, I got two putty colored 2 drawer file cabinets and popped a thick glass top over them as a desk. Great thing about that, the desk lamp lit up under the desk where I could fiddle with the computer tower. :\

I agree the porch would make a nice eating/sitting area, but we have the deck table just outside the door. The dining room has kitchen storage planned, along with the window seat for compact seating. Then, the 2 stool bar will be on the dining side of the space and not in the kitchen. So it is turning into half kitchen in function. I am trying to blur the definition of the entire space. When the two kitchen walls come out and at least 4' wide archways or access is made, I figure the light will come forward into this interior. The fridge is better placed on the wall with the sink, and there is definitely NO room for it in the current kitchen. We just moved it out of the dining room and I was happy when it left there. The fridge is part of the cooking not the dining function to my thinking. The new 24" Bertazzoni gas range will go on the wall opposite the sink, and the bar will block the view of the stove from the front of the house. While it will be a gorgeous stove and the hood will be visible, I do not want it on display. I will have some cottage shelving instead of upper cabinets, which will further open up the kitchen space and make the porch seem more a part of it.

Raising the floor and the roof will not be a bad choice. I must raise the floor to match the new half of the back addition which will be part of the back bedroom. The roofline there will have to be higher due to the higher floors, and not raising the porch floor and roof will compound the problems.

By asking me this, you are making me confront the decision of what color to paint the dining room. If I do bring the Threaded Gold into the present kitchen, WOULD it be unifying to also paint the dining room that color? Or would it be too much? It is only paint, after all, and it would not hurt to paint over it if it does not work. I think the Terra Cotta in the LR is enough of that color, and having it in the dining room is turning into overkill IMHO.

I meant to tell you, I can see myself sitting at the new small bar having coffee, or lunch, chatting with my curious neighbors who one by one are coming over to see "what are you up to now." My best-ever neighbor lives behind us, and I knew our back fence had a small gate in it for some good reason. She was friends with the contractor's mama, and he built this house for her back in 1950. The gate was for their daily visits. She is a source of history for my neighborhood and this house in particular.

I used to have a neighbor who had lots of plants on her porch. She told me that in the winter she just put them on the open , covered back porch and covered them with several layers of plastic. Ignored them all winter and they were fine come spring.
I know what you mean about the breaker box. When I had the wall between 2 bedrooms removed to enlarge my bedroom, I left an 18" portion of wall with my box on it. I don't remember the price, but it would have cost more than I was willing to spend to move it. But I've seen them painted over, wall-pappered over or have a picture over it.

Wow, you've done a lot of work on your place, and it sounds like a lot more is to come! Looks like you're doing a beautiful job. DIY sure brings tremendous satisfaction, doesn't it?

Thank you for posting your pics and info. It's inspiring to see what others have done, and you have some great ideas.

Your plants are absolutely gorgeous! I have some houseplants, but not nearly what you do. Our outdoors isn't nearly as lush either, due to our semi-desert climate, and the harsh winters. Our winter chinook winds are really hard on plants too. Many of them die, because when it thaws they wake up, and then they promptly freeze when the temps plummet again.

Prairie-girl, I'm not familiar with all the regional forums on the Gardenweb gardening boards, but I think you'd benefit from taking a look over there.

Having been an Alabama gardener all my life, it was a culture shock when I found myself confronted with New England gardening. One of my favorite plants to grow up there, because it gets too hot here much to quickly, is the nasturtium annuals. Claude Monet used them in his garden at Giverny and let them run all along his pathways, making them look like a stream edged by orange and yellow blossoms, with flower covered archways along the path. Up in MA, I discovered hostas and lily of the valley and bleeding heart. All die down but come back. And heaven knows, the sedum is a good choice up there. and the bugleweed (ajuga) takes to that weather, staying alive under the snow. I also planted rugosa roses near the street because they survive salty seaside conditions, and can deal with the gunk thrown up by snowplows much easier than other species. I also used some of the grasses which make big cascades of feathery shoots, topped at season's end with plumes. Not knowing your gardening zone, I can only suggest that you try a couple of the grasses. Some are more fire resistant than others.

Go to the gardening forums and get the advice of folks who know what thrives in your part of the country. My plants go outdoors in the summer,and unless there is a drought, fend for themselves. Of course, Mobile has a very high annual rainfall and only occasionally has drought conditions.

Idie2live, sorry that I've been absent for a few days. We had some sunny weather for a change, and I was outside sorting through live and dead plants.

DH is tidying up the finishes on the tiny bathroom. The contractor has not returned to begin the bathtub bumpout for the master bath, so my back bedroom is still a pile of plastic totes and cans of paint. DH moved the stacking w/dryer, but it sits in the same footprint, just turned another direction. He put in the same stickyback vinyl tile in the kitchen as in the back porch, and even put down the toe molding. I reminded him this would all be torn out when we remove the center portions of both front and back walls of the kitchen, but he still took great pains with it. We are having a disagreement about the placement of the closet in my ideas for the master suite. With no room for a walkin unless we sacrifice the lovely eastern window wall I want, when we extend the exterior wall to match the back porch wall, he once again is conceiving of an abominable plan....I say "once again" because he did that in his Cape up north, and I told him I would NEVER sleep in that bed if he made the room so unbalanced and poorly arranged. So he put the wall back up and moved the door to balance the room, but he still calls it a "virtual door" and I suppose that is the way we will resolve THIS difference as well.

Anyway, I'm keeping close eye on what he is up to, and have decided to stop on the kitchen for now, in order to put a row of wire shelves across the current back wall of the bedroom, covering the whole wall (except for the window) with floor-to-ceiling canvas (Home Depot drop cloths make great slip covers etc). That way he will be better able to visualize the usable space of the room as it is presently. The plaster wall which will take the holes to mount the wire shelving will come down once we extend the room anyway, and be no big deal.

Plus, I am in window covering mode in the front bedroom, awaiting the arrival of the 144" double drapery rods from Pottery Barn. DH is making from scratch a simple crown molding so I will have something substantial to mount the rods to. I found great grommet drapes for $20/pair at Tuesday Morning, really fine suedy look in a cafe au lait color, floor/ceiling, and will put the shade cloth on the back rod with clip rings for the time being. I don't have time to make the top-down roman shades for the windows now. What I must do is to get results FAST, before he takes matters into his own hands. My plan to move into the back or master bedroom at this time is halted, because it would precipitate a crisis with the closet, and I am choosing my battle carefully there, since so much of my total plan for that room hinges on the closet going where I WANT it to go. So the back bedroom will continue be our study and sewing room--with a master bath. (sigh)

Now if everyone is totally confused by all this, know one thing: I am a patient person, and also, as the captain I worked with for many years told my husband, "She is the strongest willed woman I ever knew." And I know that he was right. hehehehe

At last the day has arrived to remove the gas water heater from the enclosed back porch. I picked up a FREE ELECTRIC WATER HEATER from Alabama Power Company the other day. Free because we are changing from gas to electric. We chose the 40 gallon size, with an insulating blanket. My contractor is installing it outdoors on the south side of the house. The refrigerator is just on the other side of the interior wall from it, in its permanent spot on the back porch.

The plumber is going under the house to route supply lines, and will also put a line to the fridge for the ice maker. At last, filtered ice and ice water.

We will also allow space in the tiny leanto water shed for a preheating water storage tank against the day when we put solar panels on the roof for solar hot water. And, we will also have a GFCI circuit put in so DH can operate his power tools w/out running a cord out the back door!

The gas connection, or the line anyway, will remain under the floor shut off and capped. That general area will be the location of the new gas range during the actual KITCHEN redo.

We may be replacing some of the old plumbing lines on this side of the house, same as we did under the bathroom side of the house. That made the redo more expensive but it is good to bring the piping and connections up to code.

Around here they put the gas water heaters outside in a little metal 'box' with a little chimney. Is that similiar to what you are going to do?
It's funny, but sometimes we spend the most money on the things that noone sees, but are essential to our future projects - like plumbing and electricity. You must be happy to get the fridge moved.

Idie, our gas water heater was on the back porch, and then we enclosed it. Had to wait for the plumber etc to come over to make a little lean to (slab, shed roofed structure) on the exterior of the house just behind the fridge. That way, they could drill a hole in the stucco wall and be smack dab behind the fridge to connect our icemaker. I've had the fridge for about 2 years now just waiting for this moment to arrive.

I did not feel good having a gas water heater in the enclosed back porch, although it did have a small stack vent going through the shed roof of the porch. The water heater being inside, besides looking ugly, also created a LOT of heat in an already sunny and warm room. So we have the project almost complete--they will be back early next week to disconnect the gas, remove all the old piping, and finalize the electrical part of the job. The contractor will finish enclosing the water heater outside (it sure is NOT weather proof, and will have a blanket to insulate it further).

The plumber is also licensed to do the gas lines etc. Who knew! So he is taking out the old lines and will let me know if the gas pressure is high enough to run my 24" Bertazzoni range with oven, when I buy it. The lines to the house are not in good condition now, he said, and we will replace them from the meter into the house. There are old gas logs in the fireplace, which will be removed, because they really do not seem to burn the gas adequately, and the smell gives me a headache. Our fireplace is okay to burn wood anyway, should we ever have an opportunity to use it.

I'm a happy camper tonight, with my very own ice cubes that I did NOT make by filling ice trays! The OTHER big project, the bathtub bumpout and the walkin closet to make a real "master suite" out of our back bedroom, is next on the agenda. So I ordered the bathtub a couple of days ago.
I'll touch on that in another thread on this forum.

Remember the gas waterheater on the back porch? It is on its way OUT. And I'm taking photos of the new setup which is on the outside wall behind the fridge. That is the south side of the house, adjacent to the power meter. There was already a spare 220 breaker in the box because I threw away the electric stove about a year ago now.

The contractor framed up the little shed to cover the water heater now, with room for a preheating tank when we install solar water heating on the roof...some time down the road, but we do have room for it. And there will be a GFCI plug for DH to use with his outdoor electrical stuff. I'm really tired of that cord running under the back door--it is messing up the new door I think, because it does not want to close easily any more.
Maybe the photos can be uploaded tomorrow sometime. I have two other irons in the fire right now, and my mind is distracted. Tata.

Well, with the contractor having disappeared for a while, the water heater lean-to is not finished, nor is the old waterheater gone. It is out of service, and the new one is working fine, but the job is not done. sigh.....I guess that is the way it is.

Here is a picture:

It is enclosed on the roof and the sides now, with a power receptacle for use outdoors included, but there is no door on the front.

Well, Tuesday night here, and it was a beautiful day. But no contractor. How did it go when you talked to Mario, Chris?

Well, Chris, my DH and I decided that he will go north first, and I will remain in Alabama until we get the bath and closet dealt with. When he gets back there in a couple of weeks, he plans to get an estimate to finish out the master bath up there, thank HEAVEN he does not want to do the job himself. That has been a bone of contention with us all along. He tries to do too much, gets exhausted, and it takes forever. Then he seems never to pay attention to what I describe as the appearance I want. If he will step aside and turn over the job of installing the bath, we can be through with his cape up north by the fall. What a blessing that will be!

When I go up, driving 1450 miles by myself, I'll be taking my sewing machine to make slip covers for the family room sectional and also plain flat floor/ceiling curtains for the family room. If we replace the carpet in the two upstairs bedrooms, the family room and the study/4th bedroom, we'll be DONE DONE DONE. And all of that work can be hired out! I cannot believe it, after all this time. We've been married 4 years as of this July, and working on this house the entire marriage. Nice anniversary present, right? We're going to drive to Quebec City and around the Gasper Zee and come back via Nova Scotia so I can see the tides come in to the Bay of Fundy. They are awesome I'm told.

Here's the latest:
Gas water heater GONE. Floor being repaired where it was, and stickyback vinyl tiles almost ready to be installed.

Monte Carlo 24" 4-blade ceiling fan is in process of going into the kitchen. The box was "personalized" by my girl African grey parrot!

Here is the hole in the ceiling of the kitchen, after removing the ugliest florescent fixture ever made. DH will probably want to put a fan hanger in the attic, but it is way too hot to go up there this afternoon. I hope he waits.
Tried to edit this with a crop, don't know how to do it with www.tinypic.com

You're going to love that fan It really moves the air in a small space.
Is that an Oak floor? It looks to be in good shape. I have oak also (white? I think). The all look okay around the perimeter, but boy! you'd better not look under the area rugs! I would love to get them done, but it is so much trouble.

Idie, yes, it is oak. The strips of wood are 1.5" wide. The room in the fan box picture is the ONLY room with the oak its natural color. The other rooms with the oak floors were redone by some careless person who apparently did not sand, did not vacuum, and did not tape off the toe molding anywhere. So the really really dark almost burgundy (red?) mahogany stain/finish has dirt in the varnish, and varnish slopped all up on the white toe molding. Refinishing all the oak floors will be the last thing after we tear out the dining room wall leading into the kitchen. My DH likes the Italian porcelain tile so much he wants to put it over the top of the hardwood. But I prevailed and saved the wood.

wow work is really powering along ML. It must be good to finally get the heater out of there and gain a bit more space back. I love how your parrot personalise the box, I hope you dont change your mind about it because that fan is not going back to the store lol. I cant wait to see the fan when it's up.

Looks like good progress is being made. :o)
Good for you for saving the floor! I know lots of folks like tile and I agree that it is beautiful, but boy do I ever find it hard to stand on for any length of time. My feet yell very loudly at me if I do.

Well dang it is always those little nit picky things that take so much time. Looking great though. I really like that floor you are putting in. Still working on hubby for vinyl in living room. I REALLY need to shampoo the carpet. Again.

Another step in the right direction, the new deep undermount kitchen sink arrived today. I slid it, box and all, into the back bedroom and covered it with stuff to keep my DH from freaking out. He thinks every time I get something, I am about to tear something else OUT. Not so.

Would you believe I bought it from Overstock.com?
I first found it at Vintage Tub, but when I was ready to order, they no longer had the Kraus products. So I did a search and found the exact one I wanted at a good price.

Well, yesterday guess what arrived?
A SECOND KITCHEN SINK AS SHOWN ABOVE.

I did the same routine of sliding the delivery crate into the back bedroom and throwing stuff over it until I could figure out what on earth......

Well, I was hoping they had not charged my checking account TWICE, and as it would turn out, the bank's computer was down. Oh woe is me, I said. So I called Overstock.com and spoke to a very nice young man. As it turns out, they had not billed me for the second one. It was shipped directly from Kraus, the manufacturer. Somehow they must have mistaken the way things looked on the order, and shipped a second sink, thinking it never got shipped.

The man thanked me for being so honest. Well, I can tell you it would be difficult to live with myself knowing I had in effect stolen a valuable product which could be sold to someone else if I returned it. Anyway, this morning I found the return label for shipping it back to Kraus. And I never was charged the second time, so no bank problems at all.

But until the box is picked up by my friendly neighborhood UPS delivery man--he knows me really well at this point--I will keep it under wraps in the back bedroom. That's where all the contents of the 3 closets I ripped out are sitting at this time, and what is one more box more or less.

When a friend dropped over yesterday, DH and friend and I stood with the two sink boxes (covered of course) between us to chat. DH never so much as glanced at the boxes.
Whew. Close one.

He will thank me later for getting this sink. It is gorgeous. And he trusts my judgement. He does fret a little though, because he figures I'm about to rip out something when a new product arrives. hehehehehe

ML, I found myself reading your second post to myself in a whisper so that your DH would not hear! lol.
Beautiful sink. Did I read that you are looking to install stainless countertops too? Do you have a source? I looked at several and they are pricey (to me).
Can't wait to see hou things go together.

ML what a lovely sink! When we were beginning our reno I was really torn between a deep single like that, and my refinished old one. I'm sure you'll enjoy your choice for many years!
lol @ whispering, Loretta. :)

I am going to forever think of the new kitchen sink as THE WHISPERING SINK!!!!

Loretta, you have made me laugh out loud. And so have you Prairie-girl.

I have the return label to get the duplicate sink picked up Monday by UPS. In fact, my friendly UPS guy dropped off another package Friday and I told him I would have it scheduled for his Monday run, and he got a big laugh about it hiding in plain sight. He has delivered everything I've ordered online for all of my projects--except the BATH TUB--and he was wondering if my house would hold much more. So I clued him in on what was happening. Those guys (and gals for Fedex) never have a spare second to see what happens to all the stuff they deliver, so I'm giving them a link to my photo albums. I know what it feels like to always be the "waterboy" and not be a player on the team, so they are also a very necessary part of the projects I do. I'm SO GLAD we have the Internet, because I have no idea where to shop without doing an online search.